Misguided
by LimnHere
Summary: As they walk down their unforgiving paths, Ginny, Draco and Harry will find that the simplest truths can be warped into a lifetime of lies.
1. The Room

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated to this name. They belong to JK and a bunch of other people. Don't sue me. I'm just a fan.

**Author notes:** I have a few (well, a lot to be honest) people I want to thank before I start but because of the long list, I will put them at the end so it isn't a wall of text up here.

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**The Room**

_What a scene it was, row upon row, all dressed in black robes - Death Eaters all ready to be put to rest. _

He looked straight ahead.

Pressing upon the doors, they opened at his will. Instantly, the sheer number of bodies that were once Death Eaters engulfed him as he stood upon the threshold. They were lined up on hard beds in a macabre grid as far as the eye could see. So many had died; so many unmarked graves; so many graves that would never be visited.

The smell of citrus fruit crept into his nose, but nothing could hide the stench - the smell of corpses, the smell of the dead. It mingled with citrus only to become worse. Harry wanted to vomit. He wanted to be _anywhere_ other than the room he was about to enter. He wanted _nothing _better than to turn around and convince himself that he was over-analyzing the situation.

But _something _stopped him.

_Something_ was amiss. _Something_ did not add up, and no amount of rationalizing would lead him to believe otherwise.

Harry hoped that what was hidden here among the bodies could be uncovered before these Death Eaters took their secrets to the grave. He took a step forward, and the stench hit him again. He gagged a bit and tried to straighten himself.

"Mr. Potter, sir? Are you alright?" A concerned voice could be heard to his left. Harry turned his head, and used his hands to balance himself. He waved his hand in a shaking gesture and smiled.

"Yes, I'm all right, thank you. The smell is just overwhelming."

The man beside him clucked his tongue in sympathy. "We weren't expecting so many, to be honest. We had to charm the room to make it bigger. Does the citrus smell help a little, Mr. Potter, sir?"

"A bit," Harry lied.

"Ah. That is a relief, Mr. Potter. I'm John Williams. I'm a Medi-wizard, I help down here." The man gave him a small smile, and a slight pause followed.

"Is there a specific reason you're down here, sir?" the man inquired.

"I just wanted to check up on something," Harry replied absent-mindedly as he surveyed the room around him once again.

"I see, well, I have business to attend to. Am I to understand you're aware of the rules?"

Harry smiled. "Yes, I am. Thank you."

The man nodded and walked out the door. Harry watched him leave and although he was tempted to turn around and follow suit, he stood his ground.

_Something_ was amiss, and Harry was determined to get to the bottom of it. He took another step forward into the room, and the doors slammed shut behind him with a deafening bang that echoed throughout the room.

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**End Notes:** Thanks for reading. : D

Here are my thanks to the various people who helped or gave me encouraging words and advice during the years (yes, years) I planned and started to write this:

Seegrim – for being a wonderful beta! You've been so helpful and kind, I'm not sure how to thank you.

Dima – I also want to thank you for helping me beta! I'm sorry 'The Meeting' didn't come into the story but I used the end part of it in 'The Hallway.' Your advice and feedback was wonderful and really helped my story grow. Thanks!

Mynuet, Fallenwitch, DragonsAngel68, Sarah, Jen, Cindy, Renee, Jess (and anyone I missed) – Thank you all for your help! If it was answering questions, reading over my story or giving me advice!


	2. The Hallway

**Disclaimer:** Same stuff as always-I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated to this name. They belong to JK (ect). I also do not own the song, 'I Will Survive'. It is sung by Gloria Gaynor.

**Author notes:** Thank you seegrim and Dima for the beta as well as Jess, Renee, Sarah and Jen, Erin (and anyone else I forgot) for being there and listening to me whine.

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**The Hallway**

Looking around blindly, she attempted to uncover a route for escape. As she tripped down the set of steps, she landed in an ungraceful heap at its base. The dress pooled around her and rippled and fluttered under the sheer heat of the fire that surrounded her. Snaking its way up her body, the fire embraced her as it gently licked her skin. The house was ablaze and it crumbled around her but she could not bring herself to move; she was at peace as the fire gradually consumed her. The door opened, and slowly she looked up to meet the eyes of the man offering out his hand.

Words spilled forth from his lips and every one he uttered was like poison to her ears. They suffocated her easily and soon she was gasping for air. She was deaf to all the chaos around her but the few words that he had uttered.

Covering her ears, she attempted to block them out. She screamed and screamed but they were lost amongst the words as they continued to echo in the room. The words penetrated and lodged themselves deeply in her head, scarring her, marking her.

With a loud gasp, she bolted up. The screams that echoed in Ginny's head swiftly faded away from memory. She was left in silence to listen to her uneven breathing and rapid heartbeat. Slowly, they both returned back to normal.

Ginny slumped back down and rolled over. Burying her face into the pillow, her hand landed on the night table next to her. She turned her head to the right and plucked up the parchment her hand had landed on. The words glimmered in the sunlight that peeked through the curtains behind her.

_He'll be awaiting your arrival._

Ginny's eyes widened as she scrambled to get out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to prepare. Pulling off her nightwear she replaced it with daily clothing and donned her robes. With a few quick spells, her hair was up, face was clean, and her teeth were brushed. Opening the door from the bathroom, Ginny glanced around, strolling out the bedroom and down the hallway.

Her feet moved on their own accord, knowing exactly where her destination was. After countless turns, Ginny arrived at two large imposing doors. She paused in front of them and raised her hand to knock. No sooner had she lifted her hand, than a voice from inside beckoned her to come in.

Quietly, she opened one of the double doors and slipped into the dark room. The door behind her closed silently. Her eyes adjusted to the dim room, as its only source of light was the dying fire.

Briskly, she walked up to the large armchair facing the fire and stood a few steps behind. "Master." She swept down to her knees in a deep bow.

"Rise," Lord Voldemort commanded.

Ginny nodded and stood upright. She waited quietly for him to speak. Worry filled her mind, had she somehow displeased her Lord?

He said nothing for a moment. "You've had those dreams again," he said softly.

Ginny could only mutely nod. "Yes, Master."

"See to it that you get the potion for it," he said, almost kindly.

Ginny could only nod again. "I will, Master," she replied. She could almost hear his cruel smile as the next words dripped from his mouth. She nodded and bowed her head.

"Yes, Master. I will get to it right away." She quietly left the room as she had come.

The fire flickered briefly as she opened the door, without much life, it swiftly died as Ginny closed the door, leaving the room to bask in the shadows. The Dark Lord's eyes gleamed blood-red as he let out a laugh that echoed throughout the room.

Ginny walked down the hallways purposely as she tried to contain her inner happiness. The Dark Lord had finally given his trust to her and she would not let him down. Continuing down the hall, she overheard two men huddled together on the side talking.

"Them Muggles have strange, what is that they are called? Appliances?"

"I like that box one that moves, teklvisions? They don't talk back." The second man eyed the painting next to him distastefully. The painting mutely yelled back.

Ginny couldn't help but to interrupt. "It is pronounced tele-vis-ion."

The two men quickly turned around and stood at attention. Fear crept into their faces.

"It never hurts to understand more about our opponents," Ginny said calmly. They wordlessly nodded, unsure if they were in trouble. She went on. "It's a good invention but no where as deadly as their guns. Thankfully we have ways to combat them." Ginny tilted her head. "Don't you agree?" she asked.

The men quickly bobbed their heads in agreement. "Yes, ma'am," they replied simultaneously.

Before Ginny had the time to give any response, someone cut in. "Fitting you would know something like _that_," the person remarked with a scoff.

Ginny turned around to look at the owner of the voice. "Bella," she replied, grinning sweetly.

Bellatrix Lestrange's smirk turned into a sneer as her face contorted in rage. "Don't you dare call me Bella! You're not _fit_ to say my name, only the Dark Lord may call me that!" she shrieked back.

Ginny only smiled serenely. "You'll stop me how?" Amusement seeped into Ginny's voice.

Without a moment of hesitation, Bellatrix whipped out her wand and pointed it at the other woman.

Ginny didn't flinch in the slightest and cocked her head to the side. "What will little _Bella_ do with her_ evil_ wand?" Ginny's smile only widened giving emphasis on 'Bella' and 'evil'.

Bellatrix fumed; she was a force to be reckoned with; her reputation of finding the pleasure in torture had not left her.

The two men behind Ginny mumbled excuses nervously as they stumbled off and around the corner out of sight. In their rush, they failed to notice the young man standing off to the side.

Unknown to Bellatrix and Ginny, Draco Malfoy stood around the corner listening in on their conversation. A phantom of a smile flickered past his face as he listened to the two women bicker. His mind flashed back to the incident when Ginny had first graced the Death Eaters with her presence at one of their meetings. She had been taken under the wing of the Dark Lord. No one was allowed to lay a finger on her; it had become an unspoken understanding. She had been given wide berth, at least in front of Lord Voldemort. They instantly confronted Ginny once he was out of reach and did not hide their distrust of her.

"Tell me, girl, how were you able to hoodwink our Lord?"

"I didn't hoodwink him! Do you think I would be able to do it in the first place and get away with it?"

The men said nothing for a moment.

"Then why are you helping the people that killed those that you held dear?" one asked cruelly.

"I have my reasons!" Ginny replied angrily.

One of the men stepped closer.

Ginny winced and involuntarily stepped back, but she had nowhere to go because they had her cornered. They snickered around her and she could only glare back.

Another man spoke up, "You and Potter were dating before Dumbledore's death." It was a statement, not a question.

Ginny responded with silence.

"What? Is this true love turned to true hate?" They sniggered around her again. She opened her mouth; ready to defend when another voice spoke up. In their amusement, none of the other Death Eaters heard Severus Snape walk into the room, followed by Draco who had heard their loud voices from down the hall.

"Is there a problem here?" Snape said in a cold voice.

No one moved. Finally one of them spoke up, "Nothing, Severus, go back to what you were doing."

Instead of backing off, Snape moved forward. Draco mimicked his actions.

"I suggest you leave Miss Weasley alone," Snape said softly.

The men surrounding Ginny glanced at one another then back at Ginny. She wasn't worth getting on Snape's unpleasant side.

"Watch your back, girly," someone hissed before they dwindled away leaving only Snape, Draco and Ginny in the cold room.

Both men said nothing; Ginny looked from one to the other hoping to see a smile or frown, anything to justify their actions. Their faces were blank and held no emotions. Ginny looked at the two men nervously.

Draco was the first to move. Involuntarily, Ginny stepped back. A flash of amusement crossed his face as he careful maneuvered himself away from Ginny and the door.

Ginny watched him carefully and tilted her head to look up at him. This time, Draco made certain no emotions were evident in his face. Ginny walked past both men while she muttered an uncertain thank you to no one in particular.

"Miss Weasley." Snape's chilling voice stopped her instantly.

"I speak for both of us; we did not do this out of kindness. We were merely enforcing the Dark Lord's command."

It was evident that Ginny was taken aback by the bluntness of the comment. "I understand," Ginny stated, as she tried to imitate Snape's tone only to fail pathetically as it came out as a small squeak.

"You may go," he continued as he dismissed her.

Ginny nodded and left the room.

Snape turned to look at Draco and gave him a piercing stare. "Follow her and make sure she gets to her room," Snape commanded with an icy voice.

With a reluctant nod, Draco quickly stepped out of the room and in the direction Ginny headed. Draco, who had been annoyed with the task of having to follow her, understood Snape's decision after hearing the angry voices of the men who had just been humiliated because of her float down the hallway.

He let out a small sigh as he watched Ginny turn toward the dungeons, the long way back to her room. He heard her mutter _Lumos_ and the tip of her wand lit up. Draco only had seconds to duck behind a suit of armor before the glow of the wand reached him. Walking gracefully when she stumbled down the steps, he was surprised to see she had managed to direct herself toward the right way that would lead Ginny back to her room, eventually.

Even at a distance, he could see that she was shivering. The dungeons were much draftier then the main floor hallways and she was dressed inappropriately. Her cloak was too thin, he scoffed to himself. He was thankfully nice and toasty in his self-warming cloak.

After thirty minutes of following her, it was clear Ginny had no idea where she was going. Draco let out another low grumble as he saw her take the wrong turn. He was tempted to go up to her and point her to the right direction so he could be on his merry way. That's when she started to sing, not any song, no, not Ginny Weasley, but a Muggle song.

"_Go on now go, walk out the door,_

_just turn around now_

_'cause you're not welcome anymore"_

That had been the last straw. Ginny had been so engrossed in her singing she failed hear Draco's gaining footsteps behind her until it was too late. She turned around only to be pushed into the cold stonewall. Draco sneered.

"Don't muddle the dungeons with those damn Muggle songs of yours," he hissed at her.

It only took a moment for Ginny's shock to turn into anger. Pushing off the wall, she stared furiously at Draco as she brushed off her robes.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ginny asked angrily.

"This is my house," Draco replied airily without missing a beat.

"That doesn't explain why you're in the dungeons. Shouldn't you be up there with your _friends_? Killing and torturing Muggle-borns as well as defenseless Muggles?""

In a flash, Draco had Ginny pinned to the wall with his arm on her neck. "Never call them my friends," he growled.

Instinctively, Ginny wrapped her hands around his arm to pull it away. When it didn't budge she let out a terrified whimper. "Let me go," she whizzed out.

It was only then that Draco loosened the pressure on her neck. His arm was still pressed against her neck, not hard enough that it would cut off her air supply but enough to make breathing difficult.

"If you think killing and torturing Muggles or _Mudbloods_ is the worst of it, then you don't belong here," he whispered as he released her.

Ginny rubbed her neck and glared at him. "And how do you know?" she challenged back.

"You can't even call them anything else aside from 'Muggle-borns'," he drawled.

Ginny paled.

Draco gave her a sideways glance and smirked.

"Go home, Weasley. Go back to Potter. You could never kill anyone," he told her.

Moments later, Ginny had her wand aimed at his forehead.

"Don't underestimate what I can do," Ginny hissed back at him. To her dismay, Draco didn't even flinch. She tried to maintain her glare as her face fell.

"Start by showing me you won't shake when you're aiming at my forehead," he replied lazily. He reached for the hand holding the wand and grabbed it in his own.

"What – what are you doing?" Ginny asked in a shaky voice.

"This is what you wanted, wasn't it?" he said slowly as he held her hand steady.

"Go on, say the words. A-va-da Ked-av-ra," he said slowly to her as if she were a small child.

Her anger flared. "Do you know why The Dark Lord put so much faith in me?" She narrowed her eyes as she ripped her hand away from his.

Interest showed in Draco's eyes. "Amuse me, why?" Draco smirked.

"When your father gave me that blasted diary in my first year, even though Harry destroyed it, a bit of his torn soul came to reside in me!" Ginny yelled in his face. Her voice echoed through the halls. She paused to regain her breath.

"Do you know what it felt like? To have a little voice inside your head? One that wasn't your own? One that tells you to go against everything you believe, against your morals? He was always there; I felt him at the back of my mind, whispering to me, beckoning me to rise up and do his bidding again. I couldn't get away from him. He sat there waiting at the back of my mind waiting for me to come to his side. And in the end, I did," she concluded, confused. The arm holding her wand rested limply at her side as she shook slightly.

Draco, unsure of what to say, did nothing as she continued on.

"I'm not the nice, innocent person you think I am from Hogwarts. I've been anything but her ever since I wrote in that damn diary." He watched her knuckles turn white in front of him from gripping her wand too tightly in her hand. Finally she looked up at him.

"I have my reasons for being here." Malice slipped into her voice. "You understand me as much as I understand you, Malfoy. I suggest you remember that."

Ginny turned around and left Draco standing in the middle of the dimly lit hallway of the dungeon. Throughout the whole confrontation, Ginny never shed a tear.

She was not the person Draco remembered. She was not the girl who laughed, blushed and pined after Potter.

The person walking away from him was cold, cruel, and calculating.

He knew that her darkness was real. The hate was not fake.

She was not warm.

Not any more.

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**Author notes: **I now have a start but no middle- thankfully I have an end; I just need to get there now. See you in a few months: D


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